Records of the Gallatin Papers Project
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Abstract
The Gallatin Papers Project Began in 1958 and ended in 1970 with the publication of the microfilm edition of the Papers of Albert Gallatin. The project was initiated in 1958 and run by Bayrd Still, the chairman of the History Department, who assigned various members of the History Department to manage the project. The History Department sent the papers to the New York University Archives in 1978.
Historical Note
The Gallatin Papers Project began in 1958 as an inventory of the writings of Albert Gallatin. The purpose was to ascertain whether there was enough important material still unpublished relating to Albert Gallatin's life to justify a publication project. The interest in Albert Gallatin arose for two reasons. The first was his connection to the political, financial, and diplomatic history of the United Sates, from 1790 to 1849. The second reason was his importance to the history of New York University. He was one of the founders and was the first president of the Council of the University.
The preliminary survey conducted from 1958 to 1963 left no doubt that there existed a significant body of unpublished Gallatin materials, many in the New-York Historical Society. The project acquired funding in 1965 and sponsorship from the National Historical Publications Commission to prepare a microfilm publication of all unpublished materials discovered in the first survey. The microfilm edition was published in 1970.
The project was the brainchild of Professor Bayrd Still, who had become chairman of the History Department in 1957. He remained involved in the project in various capacities until its completion. Members of the History Department who worked in the project included Professor James O. Wettereau, as first Executive Editor, who had been at the New York University since 1924, and Professor Brooke Hindle. Hindle began at the University in 1950 and conducted much of the correspondence involved in the search for Gallatin materials.
Professor Thomas P. Govan became Editor and Director of the project in 1965 and continued until 1967 when he left New York University for the University of Oregon. Professor Carl E. Prince, coming to the University in 1968, became the last Editor of the Gallatin Papers Project and saw the project to its completion in 1970. He also became the author of the Guide to the Microfilm Edition published at the same time. Both Thomas Govan and Carl Prince had the able assistance of Mrs. Helene H. Fineman, who came in as Associate Editor in 1966 from the Papers of Benjamin Franklin at Yale University.
Scope and Contents Note
The collection comprises 2.5 linear feet contained in six manuscript boxes. The entire collection is one series. The records are in good condition.
The records encompass materials connected with the creation and processing of the microfilm edition of the Papers of Albert Gallatin. This includes correspondence, memoranda, newspaper clippings, and photographs. Also included is the Calendar of the Albert Gallatin Collection, a three volume set from the New-York Historical Society listing many of the documents the project received from the New–York Historical Society for publication.
Although the project began in 1958, Box 1, Folder 4 includes a memo written in 1954 by the National Historical Publications Commission as a guide to any institution wishing to create a microform publication. Correspondence in the collection also includes letters from notables connected with the NHPC such as Oliver Wendell Holmes, Dr. Philip Hamer, and Fred Shelley. There is also a photograph from 1969 of the editors of the projects sponsored by the NHPC.
Two files, Box 1, Folder 6 and Box 2, Folder 7, contain papers collected by Prof. James O. Wettereau and Prof. Brooke Hindle, with the General Services Administration. Prof. Hindle's papers reflect his involvement in the survey from the start in 1958 until the first part ended in 1963.
Box 1, Folder 9 contains the funding proposal sent in 1965 to the National Historical Publications Commission for a three-year project. The file has several copies of the proposal indicating the changes that took place before the request was sent. To learn about how a project should proceed, correspondence was carried out with other projects already in progress. Some of this correspondence is in Box 2, Folder 8. The correspondence took place in 1958-1959 and included letters from Julian Boyd of the Jefferson Papers and L. H. Butterfield of the Adams Papers.
One section of this collection consists of the files maintained by Mrs. Helene H. Fineman, Associate Editor of the Project from 1966 to 1969. Her files start with Box 3, Folder 8, and continue to the end of Box 5. Many of these files include letters written during the 1958-1963 period of the project.
These letters are answers in the affirmative to the requests about Gallatin materials. There are also folders of invoices and bills for the Xeroxing of the materials requested by the project. These include Box 3, Folder 14, which contains the invoices from the Eastman Kodak Company and Box 4, Folder 15, which has the invoices from the Microsurance Company.
Box 4, Folder 4, has photographs and newspaper clippings detailing the dedication of a plaque at the Albert Gallatin Birthplace in Switzerland. The photographs have been separated and placed in the photograph collection in the New York University Archives, and the newspaper clippings have been photocopied and the originals discarded.
Attached to the collection is the Calendar of the Albert Gallatin Collection from the New-York Historical Society, Box 6.
There appear to be no major gaps in the collection.
Preferred Citation note
Published citations should take the following form: Identification of item, date (if known); Records Gallatin Papers Project, New York University Department of History; RG 21.3.1; box number; folder number; New York University Archives, New York University Libraries.
Location of Materials
Provenance
The Gallatin Papers project was initiated in 1958 and run by Bayrd Still, the chairman of the History Department, who assigned various members of the History Department to manage the project. The History Department sent the papers to the New York University Archives in 1978.